UK Anti-Doping spent almost £600,000 on Tyson and Hughie Fury case

Ukad paid leading London law firm Bird & Bird £576,587 and spent £1,130 in barrister fees, with the total costs amounting to more than 7% of the body’s annual budget

Tyson Fury was handed a backdated two-year ban (Getty)

UK Anti-Doping has announced that it spent £577,717 on legal fees in the cases involving Tyson and Hughie Fury – more than seven per cent of its annual budget.

The two heavyweight boxers accepted backdated two-year doping bans last December for failing tests for the banned steroid nandrolone, in February 2015.

The Furys denied the nandrolone charge – blaming the positive test result on eating wild boar that had not been castrated – but Ukad initially sought the four-year ban that testing positive for the anabolic steroid carries.

A compromise deal was eventually reached in December 2017 which allowed both men to continue their careers. During the case Ukad paid London law firm Bird & Bird £576,587 and spent a further £1,130 in barrister fees. Ukad also spent £8,000 on laboratory work, bringing the total cost to £585,659.

However some felt the compromise deal only came about because of the Furys threat of legal action against Ukad.

Shortly before the final verdict was announced, it emerged that Ukad had been in talks with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) about fears the case could bankrupt the agency.

But in a statement published on Wednesday it claimed there “was never any danger that Ukad would become insolvent”.

Tyson and Hughie Fury (Getty)

In the statement, UKAD chief executive Nicole Sapstead said: “The money spent in the Fury case shows that if we determine there is evidence of doping, we will pursue a case against an athlete, coach or doctor, regardless of their public profile or status.

“In this case, two anti-doping rule violations were upheld and two-year bans given to each athlete.

“As an arm's length body of government, we are always careful about how we spend public money, and the consistent support of the UKAD board and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport ensures our legal decisions are made for the right reasons and not financial ones.”

The £585,659 amounts to more than 7% of Ukad’s annual budget although does not include the additional cost of hours spent working on the lengthy case by members of staff.

Ukad has recently been given a £6.1million funding boost by DCMS over the next two years, lifting its total annual budget to £11million. It is also in the process of recovering £250,000 through its insurers.

Fury has not fought since beating Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015 to win the IBF, WBA and WBO world titles.